BlackBerry’s new Motion smartphone launches with no keyboard and a 4000mAh battery

BlackBerry’s new Motion smartphone launches with no keyboard and a 4000mAh battery

Microsoft might have all but confirmed the death of Windows 10 Mobile, but BlackBerry, a company with an even smaller share of the smartphone market, keeps on releasing new devices. At GITEX Technology Week in Dubai, the security-focused firm launched its latest handset, the BlackBerry Motion.

It was only a few days ago when reliable leaker Even Blass tweeted out images of the BlackBerry Motion, which resembles this year’s BB KEYone, only without an important feature. We now have confirmation that the phone — previously codenamed “Krypton” — doesn’t have the company’s iconic physical keyboard.

Like other BlackBerry handsets, Chinese firm TCL manufactures the Motion. It comes with some decidedly mid-range specs: a Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (expandable), a 12MP f/2.0 PDAF camera on the rear, an 8MP selfie camera, and a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 screen. A customized version of Android 7.1 will be pre-installed, but BlackBerry says it will update this to 8.0 Oreo in 2018, though it didn’t give any specific times.

One part of the Motion that stands out is its 4000mAh battery, which, given that the hardware isn’t exactly demanding, should mean the phone lasts a comparatively long time between charges. You can even juice it to 50 percent capacity in just 40 minutes with Quick Charge 3.0. It’s also got an IP67 rating for water-resistance, and, being BlackBerry, comes with plenty of security apps.

The Motion is getting a limited release and will only launch in Middle Eastern markets first, priced at the equivalent of around $460. BlackBerry said it would expand to other areas, but didn’t specify which ones.